Female face mask "okuyi" or "mukudji" · Gabon, Punu · ID: 3049432
Maurice W. Shapiro (1928-1993), New York, USA
Christie’s, New York, 11 November 1993, Lot 107
Christie’s, New York, 20 November 1997, Lot 60
German Private Collection
Description
wood, kaolin, base
This beautiful old mask with the typical whitened face is one of the so-called “white-faced masks from the Ogooué”.
These masks represent female entities from the spirit world and especially performed during mourning rites. They belonged to the male “mwiri” secret society.
The object Female face mask “okuyi” or “mukudji” with the object ID 3049432 was part of the auction 99th Auction on November 12, 2022. The object with the lot number 28 achieved a sales price of EUR 3,600 with an asking price of EUR 2,500.
You can find more Masks and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.
Publications
African Arts, 1985, vol. XVIII, no.3, p.12, Alfred Scheinberg
AHDRC: 0049249